10-25-2008, 05:19 AM
Shlama all---
Recently at peshitta.org, someone was kind enough to share a link for a great resource called "Internet Archive" which is like Google Books but with a more scholarly perspective. I was perusing this archive and downloaded a 1927 Royal Asiatic Society imprint by a scholar named Moses Gaster. Here is that link before I forget: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.archive.org/details/MN40245ucmf_0">http://www.archive.org/details/MN40245ucmf_0</a><!-- m -->.
The book is a free download and very interesting read. Moses Gaster translates "Asatir" as "Secrets of Moses" and he dates the work to about 250 BCE. In looking at other modern scholars though I have seen dates as late as the 12th century CE! It is clear that there are some Muslim influences without mentioning Islam directly but that may be a reflection of its final form and not necessarily the most ancient recension of that form. Arabic not only influences the Aramaic as one would suspect in the Islamic period but an Arabic Commentary that goes along with this text, called a Pitron, was also translated and included by Gaster.
There are also Messianic tendencies that are very interesting in this Midrash of the Pentateuch. and Adam has a special Book of Signs that he passes on to other Tanakh figures--some very imaginative connections. In reading this translation (and some transliteration of the Samaritan Hebrew is given in the work by Gaster) it also appears to have much older sections that may go well back before the 10th century but no one seems sure: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://books.google.com/books?id=_iMnzhSSbowC&pg=PA34&lpg=PA34&dq=samaritan+asatir&source=bl&ots=1ofT6QaKVa&sig=JUrxvhdvRnnztyeSLSDNhRDUxp8&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=6&ct=result">http://books.google.com/books?id=_iMnzh ... &ct=result</a><!-- m -->
The Samaritans themselves do seem to accept the books as genuine both when Gaster was looking to them for help with mss and with their current website that show cases their literature at <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.thesamaritans.com">http://www.thesamaritans.com</a><!-- m -->.
In any case, I find the Midrash (as opposed to a Targum) in this work a darn good read and commentary regardless as to how late it ends up actually being, and I thought I would just let you guys take a look and see what you think.
Recently at peshitta.org, someone was kind enough to share a link for a great resource called "Internet Archive" which is like Google Books but with a more scholarly perspective. I was perusing this archive and downloaded a 1927 Royal Asiatic Society imprint by a scholar named Moses Gaster. Here is that link before I forget: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.archive.org/details/MN40245ucmf_0">http://www.archive.org/details/MN40245ucmf_0</a><!-- m -->.
The book is a free download and very interesting read. Moses Gaster translates "Asatir" as "Secrets of Moses" and he dates the work to about 250 BCE. In looking at other modern scholars though I have seen dates as late as the 12th century CE! It is clear that there are some Muslim influences without mentioning Islam directly but that may be a reflection of its final form and not necessarily the most ancient recension of that form. Arabic not only influences the Aramaic as one would suspect in the Islamic period but an Arabic Commentary that goes along with this text, called a Pitron, was also translated and included by Gaster.
There are also Messianic tendencies that are very interesting in this Midrash of the Pentateuch. and Adam has a special Book of Signs that he passes on to other Tanakh figures--some very imaginative connections. In reading this translation (and some transliteration of the Samaritan Hebrew is given in the work by Gaster) it also appears to have much older sections that may go well back before the 10th century but no one seems sure: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://books.google.com/books?id=_iMnzhSSbowC&pg=PA34&lpg=PA34&dq=samaritan+asatir&source=bl&ots=1ofT6QaKVa&sig=JUrxvhdvRnnztyeSLSDNhRDUxp8&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=6&ct=result">http://books.google.com/books?id=_iMnzh ... &ct=result</a><!-- m -->
The Samaritans themselves do seem to accept the books as genuine both when Gaster was looking to them for help with mss and with their current website that show cases their literature at <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.thesamaritans.com">http://www.thesamaritans.com</a><!-- m -->.
In any case, I find the Midrash (as opposed to a Targum) in this work a darn good read and commentary regardless as to how late it ends up actually being, and I thought I would just let you guys take a look and see what you think.
Shlama w'burkate
Andrew Gabriel Roth
Andrew Gabriel Roth
